1. Why does the man, Mr. L., emphasize the part of the radio announcement
that stated “THE JEWS murdered a German,” and the woman, Mrs. G., emphasize
the statement of the SA that claimed “We will show YOU JEWS”?

Suggestions for discussion: Kristallnacht was touched off by one young
man’s action against one German. Yet the Nazi propagandists and the SA accused
all Jews of trying to kill Germans. Stereotyping and scapegoating play important
roles in this type of accusation as the group is attacked for the actions
of one individual.

The fact remains that, because of the anger of one seventeen year old (Herschel
Grynzspan), Mr. L, who was about nineteen years old at the time, was arrested
“in the name of the German Reich” and sent to the concentration camp
at Buchenwald. Because of the renewed stereotype of Jews as murderers, Mrs.
G., then around ten years old, was terrified at the violence that suddenly
invaded her home and family.

2. How do you think it felt for a child to be ordered by government
authorities to take whatever she could carry and be ready to leave her
home in one hour?

Suggestions for discussion: As Mrs. K. notes, she had to leave
her house, furnishings, the silver, etc. She remembers objects that were part
of her daily routine and of her family life. Mrs. C. comments that “there
was no time to think.” This also reflects the nature of Heydrich’s “Concise
Order” (see lecture
“Towards the ‘Final Solution’” II D 3). Students might
consider what they would take if they were given such orders to leave home
and march to a ghetto with only one suitcase.

3. “It was starvation,” says Mrs. C. about the ghetto. What
did those in the ghetto have to eat?

Suggestions for discussion: The diet in the ghettos consisted
of stale bread, frozen potatoes, and stale vegetables.

4. How did the people on the tape react to seeing dead bodies
on the streets in the ghettos?

Suggestions for discussion: While they speak of seeing dead
bodies everywhere in tones that stress the horror of those sights, it seems
that each of them had become used to death during that time. In some cases,
they seem to have grown almost indifferent to the bodies. This response was
probably a combination of the routine nature of the sight and the effects
of starvation and fear on the survivors. The normal state of affairs was to
see corpses covered with newspapers or lying on the sidewalk or in the gutters.
One had no time to think about the wretched scenes on the street.

5. The final image on the videotape is of starving children.
Mrs. W. noted sarcastically that “this is what it meant to have cultured German
people” come to her city. What did she mean?

Suggestions for discussion: To Jews in Eastern Europe, German
culture meant poetry and music, philosophy, science and literature. It meant
the same things to German Jews. Yet the cultured Germans brought starvation,
death and destruction to children and all inhabitants of these communities – destruction to families of innocent people. The woman is bitterly sarcastic
because of the consequences that befell her and her entire family.

6. Based on what you have heard on the videotape about the
ghettos, why do you think more Jews did not fight the Germans?

Suggestions for discussion: Jews were subjected to severe rationing
and forced labor. Almost immediately, the consequences of overcrowding, malnutrition
and poor hygienic conditions produced huge epidemics of typhus and other diseases.
Besides the physical hardships, if someone fought or tried to escape, not
only were they punished or killed, but their family and friends were killed
as well. It is difficult to conceive of people in such a condition thinking
about armed resistance to their captors.